As estimated by the state food and civil supplies department, the millers will hand over 90% of rice stocks (after milling paddy) to the FCI by September 30 so as to make them eligible for getting fresh stocks.

By Gurpreet Singh Nibber

A day after the Punjab government’s Custom Milling Policy (CMP) for the upcoming season starting October 1 permitted millers who delivered 90% of their 2025 paddy allocation to the Food Corporation of India (FCI) to receive fresh allocations, millers claimed that their previous year’s stocks are actually higher than projected in the policy.

As estimated by the state food and civil supplies department, the millers will hand over 90% of rice stocks (after milling paddy) to the FCI by September 30 so as to make them eligible for getting fresh stocks.

Paddy procurement in the state is expected to begin on October 1, with a bumper harvest predicted from a record-high cultivation area of 32.7 lakh hectares. Due to a bumper harvest, the state faces a difficult phase as its godowns are filled to capacity with rice and wheat stocks from previous years. Additionally, at least 21 lakh tonnes of paddy from the last season remain stored on mill premises, awaiting milling.

State godowns currently store 115 lakh tonnes of wheat and 155 lakh tonnes of rice from previous seasons, which, in addition to the paddy stocks awaiting milling, leaves practically no space to store more.

‘14 lakh tonnes of custom-milled rice undelivered’

According to Rice Punjab Millers Association president Bharat Bhushan Binta, most millers can only process about 70% of their paddy. Consequently, they will likely miss the state government’s 90% target for the rest of the month, making them ineligible for fresh stocks.

He added that nearly 14 lakh tonnes of custom-milled rice remains undelivered. As a result, massive amounts of paddy and processed rice have been stuck at millers’ premises for an extended period.

“The state government and the rice millers association have repeatedly urged the Centre to expedite the movement of pending rice from the state warehouses,” he said.

Tarsem Siani, president of another association representing the state’s rice millers, stated that many stations, including Rampura Phul, Jagraon, Moga, and Samrala, cannot mill and deliver 90% of rice stocks by the end of the month. He urged the government to relax the milling policy to support the rice millers.

According to data from the state food department, milling has reached 78% in Moga, 80% in Ludhiana, 81% in Mansa, and 83% in both Mohali and Kapurthala.

Binta said that millers delivered rice to other districts and states, including Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan, at their own expense to fulfil their responsibilities. While central policy dictates that the FCI covers freight charges for deliveries up to 40 km from a mill, the FCI is reportedly forcing millers to sign undertakings to accept freight rates applicable only to their original centres, raising serious concerns.

According to Ranjit Singh Jossan, rice millers should not be blamed for the current season’s milling delays.

“During the previous season, many millers could not begin operations on time due to problems related to the availability of fortified rice kernels. Subsequently, millers encountered significant hurdles because the FCI lacked sufficient storage space to accept the processed rice, an issue that remains unresolved,” he said.

A senior department official stated that the food and civil supplies minister has been authorised in the CMP to grant relaxations to millers beyond 90%.

“We have drafted and approved the custom milling policy after taking rice millers’ associations into confidence,” food and civil supplies minister Lal Chand Kataruchak said.

“In case any issue crops up in the future, we will take a call at the level of the chief minister because the policy has been cleared by the state cabinet,” he added.

Gurpreet Singh Nibber

Published Date: September 7, 2026